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Author Topic:   Michigan Coastal Islands

contender posted 10-24-2010 11:49 AM ET (US)
I was reading the Sunday paper (Ft Lauderdale) this morning and saw an article about the problems [and] trying to keep Michigan's Islands free from unwanted plants, animals and other issues. The other issue was the island pictures posted in the article seem to all/most to be on the Canada side. Do any of you Whalers from Michigan really know whats going on with this? Or what is the really story? Thanks
jimh posted 10-24-2010 11:56 AM ET (US)
Is the newspaper article available on-line?
PeteB88 posted 10-24-2010 12:28 PM ET (US)
The bottom line: Michigan is, in many ways, an unknown-under appreciated secret to even some people who live here. Some of us are old enough to remember Water Winter Wonderland slogan that really says it all. National news, the economy, loss of jobs, meatgrinder politics (sometimes) and auto industry bailing on entire cities have cast a negative association that is not fair.
I moved back from OR kicking and screaming but have once again discovered the awesome-ness of a great place on this planet to live and raise a family. Educational opportunities are incredible and through the Pure Michigan campaign (national) our collective self-esteem is growing.
There are incredible islands throughout the Great Lakes and in other places, like where we live, no islands but inland lakes connected by navigable channels to Lake Michigan like every 10 miles, pristine beaches, 11,000 inland lakes, great village and small town communities. A waterway or Great Lake is within 8 miles of every person in Michigan.
Kind of like people who say they hate California and have only been to LA. If you've only been to Detroit you have not seen Michigan. However, Detroit is amazing on its own. Just a few minutes from City Center some of the coolest places in the country, including Great Lakes waterways exist. From Detroit to Copper Country in Upper Peninsula is over 600 miles!.
It's a must do especially the summer for you Floridians. Bring your Whaler!
contender posted 10-24-2010 01:32 PM ET (US)
Jim: Paper, Ft Lauderdale Sun Sentinel page 10a, if you can not fine it, send me your address via email and I'll send you the page...
rgy posted 10-25-2010 10:00 AM ET (US)
[A]dding to Pete's remarks [I] tell people that I live in the best place in the world June, July, August and September--Saugatuck Harbor. [L]ake shore is usually cloudless during the summer. Lake temperature was in the high 70's this [year]. [W]estern edge of the time zone so it light until close to 10 p.m. for a large part of the summer.
PeteB88 posted 10-25-2010 10:09 AM ET (US)
I'd add May and October for sure especially if you fish. Fishing the rivers gets better the worse the weather gets. Nothing like midwest tomatoes, sweet corn, peaches, apples then add autumn colors and we're getting the bonus plan this year.
Buckda posted 10-25-2010 11:32 AM ET (US)
Stepping aside, for a moment, from the Michigan Tourism commercial that has sprung from this question: I conducted a quick search of the Sun-Sentinel site this morning, as well as Google News to see if I could find this article - and I could not.
Was it part of a Sunday insert?
The reason I ask is that few islands in the Great Lakes are remote enough from the mainland to really justify a unique and separate concern about invasive species. Most invasives in the Great Lakes region can easily reach most islands by swimming, flying, walking (across ice) or riding the wind.
Also, most islands have virtually the same ecosystems as the nearby mainland.
home Aside posted 10-25-2010 02:24 PM ET (US)
I searched in vain to find the article. Michigan does have problems with invasive species of plants & aquatic life. Purple Loosestrife, zebra mussels, and cormorants, to name a few.
I've read that there are some islands that are barren from the numbers of Cormorants roosing there and the acidity of their droppings. They also gorge themselves on fish.
One day at Harbor Springs, I watched a single cormorant just off shore for about 45 minutes. Every time it came up from a dive it had another fish in its bill, it as unbelievable.
Another day my wife & I were cruising around a point just off St. Ignace, Mi (Mackinac Island Area) in our Montauk we came upon a float of Cormorants and they flushed to the air, there were not hundreds, but more like thousands of them, the sky was almost black with them. I had not personally seen before and have not seen since a flock of that many birds in the air together ever. I hate to think how many fish were consumed by that flock of non-native birds.
Pat
MarthaB posted 10-25-2010 07:19 PM ET (US)
Contender, couldn't find the article in the online version. Am interested in reading the article. Please email(email address is in my profile) article to me. Thanks
meridian posted 10-25-2010 07:22 PM ET (US)
Middle Island, on the Canadian/US Lake Erie border between Kellys and Peele island has mostly bare trees from the cormorants. I drove around it this year and the stench was overpowering. They have pushed the ducks and Canadian geese out of the area.
WT posted 10-25-2010 10:56 PM ET (US)
http://www.startribune.com/templates/Print_This_Story?sid=102745024
PeteB88 posted 10-26-2010 12:39 AM ET (US)
Thanks for the link
PeteB88 posted 10-26-2010 12:44 AM ET (US)
Cormorants wrecked havoc on Oregon coastal stream fishery resulting in public and private collaboration to reduce problem.
It's my understanding that Cormorants have literally ruined several offshore islands by roosting and pooping by the thousands. I have heard MDNRE culls them with shotguns but who knows? Shooting them in OR was not an option so big league millionaire bought several sled boats w/ props and paid locals to do non-lethal harassment of the birds w/ "cracker" shells out of 12 ga guns.
A fisheries scientist I know said the one good thing about DDT is it knocked out the populations of cormorants in Michigan. Cant' you get that stuff in Mexico?
Buckda posted 10-26-2010 09:37 AM ET (US)
It appears, from the article, that we (humans) are the invasive species they're most worried about.
You are right about one thing - the vast majority of the islands in the Great Lakes are in Canadian territory, thanks to the myriad of islands found in Georgian Bay.
elaelap posted 10-26-2010 12:34 PM ET (US)
This week's (October 25, 2010) New Yorker magazine has a long, must-read article by Ian Frazier about the risk to the Great Lakes from Asian carp. Pretty scary stuff. Here's a link to an abstract of that story:
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/10/25/101025fa_fact_frazier
Tony
home Aside posted 10-26-2010 01:45 PM ET (US)
If the Michigan DNR would approve a hunt of coromorants they'd get plenty of takers. I think what they're doing now is Oiling the eggs in nesting areas. I like led poisoning better (using steel shot of course).
Pat
jimh posted 10-26-2010 09:05 PM ET (US)
Warren--Thank you for giving us a pointer to the article. It is so much easier to have a discussion about an article if we can all read the article. Otherwise, talking about an article that no one can read is not particularly interesting.
jimh posted 10-26-2010 09:07 PM ET (US)
The only islands in Michigan which are likely to have an isolated ecosystem are Isle Royale and Caribou Island. Of the two, Caribou is probably more isolated and much, much less visited.
rwc posted 10-28-2010 12:38 AM ET (US)
My wife has spent two summers on Isle Royale, working with the studies regarding the moose and wolf populations.
The Great Lakes and this ecosystem are unique in this country and need to be protected and preserved, the political wrangling around environmental issues is shameful.
Thanks for bringing this article to our attention.
Buckda posted 10-28-2010 09:14 AM ET (US)
JimH -
If you're referring to Caribou Island in Lake Superior, I think the government of Ontario and Canada will have a difference of opinion on who owns it. Especially since they invested in placing a light station on the island.
RWC - I agree - but I don't think that islands need some kind of special protection, we need to do a better job understanding and preserving our environment everywhere in the state, and balance economic and land development with preservation and restoration.
Singling out special status for selected categories only encourages that quirk of human nature to think that the unselected categories don't need protection/attention.


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Author	Topic: Michigan Coastal Islands
contender	posted 10-24-2010 11:49 AM ET (US) I was reading the Sunday paper (Ft Lauderdale) this morning and saw an article about the problems [and] trying to keep Michigan's Islands free from unwanted plants, animals and other issues. The other issue was the island pictures posted in the article seem to all/most to be on the Canada side. Do any of you Whalers from Michigan really know whats going on with this? Or what is the really story? Thanks
jimh	posted 10-24-2010 11:56 AM ET (US) Is the newspaper article available on-line?
PeteB88	posted 10-24-2010 12:28 PM ET (US) The bottom line: Michigan is, in many ways, an unknown-under appreciated secret to even some people who live here. Some of us are old enough to remember Water Winter Wonderland slogan that really says it all. National news, the economy, loss of jobs, meatgrinder politics (sometimes) and auto industry bailing on entire cities have cast a negative association that is not fair. I moved back from OR kicking and screaming but have once again discovered the awesome-ness of a great place on this planet to live and raise a family. Educational opportunities are incredible and through the Pure Michigan campaign (national) our collective self-esteem is growing. There are incredible islands throughout the Great Lakes and in other places, like where we live, no islands but inland lakes connected by navigable channels to Lake Michigan like every 10 miles, pristine beaches, 11,000 inland lakes, great village and small town communities. A waterway or Great Lake is within 8 miles of every person in Michigan. Kind of like people who say they hate California and have only been to LA. If you've only been to Detroit you have not seen Michigan. However, Detroit is amazing on its own. Just a few minutes from City Center some of the coolest places in the country, including Great Lakes waterways exist. From Detroit to Copper Country in Upper Peninsula is over 600 miles!. It's a must do especially the summer for you Floridians. Bring your Whaler!
contender	posted 10-24-2010 01:32 PM ET (US) Jim: Paper, Ft Lauderdale Sun Sentinel page 10a, if you can not fine it, send me your address via email and I'll send you the page...
rgy	posted 10-25-2010 10:00 AM ET (US) [A]dding to Pete's remarks [I] tell people that I live in the best place in the world June, July, August and September--Saugatuck Harbor. [L]ake shore is usually cloudless during the summer. Lake temperature was in the high 70's this [year]. [W]estern edge of the time zone so it light until close to 10 p.m. for a large part of the summer.
PeteB88	posted 10-25-2010 10:09 AM ET (US) I'd add May and October for sure especially if you fish. Fishing the rivers gets better the worse the weather gets. Nothing like midwest tomatoes, sweet corn, peaches, apples then add autumn colors and we're getting the bonus plan this year.
Buckda	posted 10-25-2010 11:32 AM ET (US) Stepping aside, for a moment, from the Michigan Tourism commercial that has sprung from this question: I conducted a quick search of the Sun-Sentinel site this morning, as well as Google News to see if I could find this article - and I could not. Was it part of a Sunday insert? The reason I ask is that few islands in the Great Lakes are remote enough from the mainland to really justify a unique and separate concern about invasive species. Most invasives in the Great Lakes region can easily reach most islands by swimming, flying, walking (across ice) or riding the wind. Also, most islands have virtually the same ecosystems as the nearby mainland.
home Aside	posted 10-25-2010 02:24 PM ET (US) I searched in vain to find the article. Michigan does have problems with invasive species of plants & aquatic life. Purple Loosestrife, zebra mussels, and cormorants, to name a few. I've read that there are some islands that are barren from the numbers of Cormorants roosing there and the acidity of their droppings. They also gorge themselves on fish. One day at Harbor Springs, I watched a single cormorant just off shore for about 45 minutes. Every time it came up from a dive it had another fish in its bill, it as unbelievable. Another day my wife & I were cruising around a point just off St. Ignace, Mi (Mackinac Island Area) in our Montauk we came upon a float of Cormorants and they flushed to the air, there were not hundreds, but more like thousands of them, the sky was almost black with them. I had not personally seen before and have not seen since a flock of that many birds in the air together ever. I hate to think how many fish were consumed by that flock of non-native birds. Pat
MarthaB	posted 10-25-2010 07:19 PM ET (US) Contender, couldn't find the article in the online version. Am interested in reading the article. Please email(email address is in my profile) article to me. Thanks
meridian	posted 10-25-2010 07:22 PM ET (US) Middle Island, on the Canadian/US Lake Erie border between Kellys and Peele island has mostly bare trees from the cormorants. I drove around it this year and the stench was overpowering. They have pushed the ducks and Canadian geese out of the area.
WT	posted 10-25-2010 10:56 PM ET (US) http://www.startribune.com/templates/Print_This_Story?sid=102745024
PeteB88	posted 10-26-2010 12:39 AM ET (US) Thanks for the link
PeteB88	posted 10-26-2010 12:44 AM ET (US) Cormorants wrecked havoc on Oregon coastal stream fishery resulting in public and private collaboration to reduce problem. It's my understanding that Cormorants have literally ruined several offshore islands by roosting and pooping by the thousands. I have heard MDNRE culls them with shotguns but who knows? Shooting them in OR was not an option so big league millionaire bought several sled boats w/ props and paid locals to do non-lethal harassment of the birds w/ "cracker" shells out of 12 ga guns. A fisheries scientist I know said the one good thing about DDT is it knocked out the populations of cormorants in Michigan. Cant' you get that stuff in Mexico?
Buckda	posted 10-26-2010 09:37 AM ET (US) It appears, from the article, that we (humans) are the invasive species they're most worried about. You are right about one thing - the vast majority of the islands in the Great Lakes are in Canadian territory, thanks to the myriad of islands found in Georgian Bay.
elaelap	posted 10-26-2010 12:34 PM ET (US) This week's (October 25, 2010) New Yorker magazine has a long, must-read article by Ian Frazier about the risk to the Great Lakes from Asian carp. Pretty scary stuff. Here's a link to an abstract of that story: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/10/25/101025fa_fact_frazier Tony
home Aside	posted 10-26-2010 01:45 PM ET (US) If the Michigan DNR would approve a hunt of coromorants they'd get plenty of takers. I think what they're doing now is Oiling the eggs in nesting areas. I like led poisoning better (using steel shot of course). Pat
jimh	posted 10-26-2010 09:05 PM ET (US) Warren--Thank you for giving us a pointer to the article. It is so much easier to have a discussion about an article if we can all read the article. Otherwise, talking about an article that no one can read is not particularly interesting.
jimh	posted 10-26-2010 09:07 PM ET (US) The only islands in Michigan which are likely to have an isolated ecosystem are Isle Royale and Caribou Island. Of the two, Caribou is probably more isolated and much, much less visited.
rwc	posted 10-28-2010 12:38 AM ET (US) My wife has spent two summers on Isle Royale, working with the studies regarding the moose and wolf populations. The Great Lakes and this ecosystem are unique in this country and need to be protected and preserved, the political wrangling around environmental issues is shameful. Thanks for bringing this article to our attention.
Buckda	posted 10-28-2010 09:14 AM ET (US) JimH - If you're referring to Caribou Island in Lake Superior, I think the government of Ontario and Canada will have a difference of opinion on who owns it. Especially since they invested in placing a light station on the island. RWC - I agree - but I don't think that islands need some kind of special protection, we need to do a better job understanding and preserving our environment everywhere in the state, and balance economic and land development with preservation and restoration. Singling out special status for selected categories only encourages that quirk of human nature to think that the unselected categories don't need protection/attention.